


Quench Ya

by Planteria



Series: Bites of the Silver Sandwich [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Bending (Avatar TV), Bisexual Disaster Sokka (Avatar), Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Bisexual Suki (Avatar), Everyone Is Gay, First Dates, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Hakoda (Avatar) is a Good Parent, Hakoda is not perfect though, High School, High School Prom, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mental Illness, Mutual Pining, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Pansexual Aang (Avatar), Past Child Abuse, Prom, Rated T for swearing, Sapphic Toph Beifong (Avatar), Therapy, Toph Beifong and Zuko are Siblings, Underage Drinking, Zuko (Avatar) is Bad at Feelings, Zuko (Avatar) is an Idiot, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, and we acknowledge that fully, mentions of drug use, mentions of scars, psychiatric hospital
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:07:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26069947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Planteria/pseuds/Planteria
Summary: "Zuko, come to prom with me," Sokka said, his blue eyes trained on him and his hand's on Zuko's cheeks. His mouth went dry, his hands clammy, his face red. Every part of him just wanted to lean in and kiss him."No," his mouth said instead. Sokka groaned and flopped across his lap."You're no fun," he said, looking up at him. And Zuko forgot how to breathe.[Or the one in which the gaang goes to prom and Sokka and Zuko are forced to face their feelings for each other and a lot of other truths of life.]
Relationships: Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Background Bato/Hakoda (Avatar) - Relationship, Past Sokka/Suki (Avatar) - Relationship, Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Suki, Toph Beifong & Zuko, background Aang/Katara (Avatar), past Sokka/Yue (Avatar) - Relationship
Series: Bites of the Silver Sandwich [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1812274
Comments: 86
Kudos: 470





	1. Shut Up and Dance with Me

**Author's Note:**

> hi y'all! here's the first chapter!! this one is kinda long so I decided to split it up.  
> once again, there are links throughout this work. they are not viruses, just memes and things I don't want to explain.

“C’mon, Zuko,” Aang pleaded for the umpteenth time that week. 

“No, I’m not coming,” he repeated, shoving more food in his mouth. The lunch room was buzzing with excitement. On Monday, the school had announced the date for this year’s prom. Tuesday it was the location, Wednesday the theme, Thursday was the dress code and all the other rules, and today tickets went on sale. Prom was two weeks away, but it might as well be tomorrow the way people were acting. Zuko couldn’t honestly care less. Who wanted to get dressed up and pay one-hundred-fifty dollars to go hang out with friends in a large, sweaty crowd of people in some golf course? No thanks. 

“But it’s your senior year!” Aang argued. Zuko rolled his eyes and simply took another bite of food rather than reply. Katara placed a hand on Aang’s shoulder. The two had a conversation through a series of facial expressions, making Zuko half want to barf. He was really glad that they two were so compatible and happy together. He was just bitter because he was single. Not that he and Mai were ever  _ that _ happy together, anyway. A bit of regret ran through him and he glanced over at Sokka. 

“I think what Aang is trying to say,” Katara tried, smiling warmly at him, “is that the whole group wants to go this year. Only Juniors and Seniors are allowed to go, but underclass- _ people _ can come as guests.” He knew exactly where she was going with that statement, but tried to ignore it by just giving her a hum in response. Would it be so bad just to suck it up and go to prom with his friends? No. Did he just want to be stubborn? Bingo. 

“I have it all figured out, dude!” Sokka said with a mouthful of food. Swallowing, he continued, “Suki brings Katara, I bring Aang, and you invite Toph. That way it’s not weird that I’m inviting my sister or anything.” 

“Why do I have to be responsible for Toph?” Sokka shrugged. He was lucky he was cute. 

“I’ll think about it.” Sokka kicked his shin under the table. He flinched, muttering an expletive and rubbing his leg. “Why’d you kick me?” 

Sokka shrugged, grinning slightly. “You’re being an idiot again.” Katara smacked her brother on the shoulder. 

“Don’t be mean.” 

“I’m not being mean,” he argued. 

“It was a little mean,” Zuko grumbled, smiling a bit at Sokka’s reaction. His mouth fell open and he dramatically clutched his chest. 

“You wound me," Sokka teased. Zuko scrunched up his nose with a confused hand. 

“You’re the one who kicked me!” Sokka’s hands fell and he let out a laugh. 

“Touché,” he mumbled with a smile. 

* * *

“It’s good to see you. How has your week been?” Dr. Minami smiled at him, her black hair tied back in a bun. 

“Good,” he said, settling into the faux leather couch. The corners of her eyes crinkled as she gave him another partial smile. He wasn’t sure how old she was; she had a round face and looked barely old enough to drink, but she had a PhD. She  _ had _ to be older than she looked. 

“Anything interesting happen this week?” 

He shrugged. “Not really.” He thought for a moment, her expression cluing him in to do so. Her constant insistence that his life was more interesting than he thought it was… got a little irritating at times. “I guess prom’s coming up.” She smiled again, scratching something quick on her notepad. 

“Are you going?” He shrugged. “Zuko,” she said in an almost teasing manner. 

He sighed. “I know. I know. I just don’t want to go.” 

“Why not?” 

“It just doesn’t sound fun. Like, tickets are expensive and I don’t have formal clothes, and it just… I don’t know.” Dr. Minami readjusted in her seat and pushed up her glasses. 

“Not being able to afford it is a totally reasonable and valid reason to not want to go. Are there any non-financial reasons that you don’t want to go?” He was really glad that he had access to affordable therapy; however, sometimes he wished it were easier. She had never asked him difficult questions in group therapy. But he supposed that there was more than one obvious difference between regular therapy and group. 

“I guess not, other than it doesn’t sound fun to spend all night in a sweaty crowd of teenagers.” To his surprise, Dr. Minami let out a laugh. 

“I suppose that’s fair,” she said. “Are there any reasons you want to go?” 

“I guess. It’d be fun to hang out with all my friends and Toph’s going to be coming so it’d be nice to see her again.” She gave him a half smile.

“Would you be going with Sokka too?” His heart skipped a beat. As much as he knew it was important to be honest and open during therapy sessions, he really wished he wasn’t half the time. It was petrifying, being sincere, being known. Granted, she wasn’t someone he saw in his daily life, which almost made it worse. There was a person who existed in the universe who knew so much about him and his feelings that didn't really exist in his life socially. Everytime he thought about it, he wanted to just curl in on himself and implode. 

Something about his face answered her question for him. She chuckled slightly. “How have things been going with him?” 

“They’re fine,” he said and shrugged. “It’s not like things have really changed between us. Neither of us have really had the courage to bring it up again since December. I don’t even know if he still likes me or not.” He gave her another shrug as she nodded and jotted something down. 

“Do you want to talk to him about it?” Biting his lip, he pondered it. It was a simple question. Why wouldn’t he want to talk to Sokka about it? He had seemed interested in dating the last time they spoke. But he had also just been broken up with and hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep. On the other hand, Sokka seemed to get a lot more touchy with him afterwards. But Sokka was just  _ very platonically _ touchy anyway. Feelings were confusing. 

He sighed. “Yeah, I think I do,” he answered. Dr. Minami just gave him a toothless smile. 

“I’ll put that on your goals for this week,” she muttered, focused on writing it down. Finishing, she sat her pen down and looked back up at him. He let out a breath, readjusting himself. He knew that the real part of therapy was about to start. “If I’m correct, last week we left off with your mother leaving.” He nodded. “We’ll start there then. Remind me what we talked about regarding that.” 

There were some things that he never wanted to talk about ever; one of them happened to be the night his mother disappeared. Honestly, he didn’t know what happened to her. When he was sixteen, he had asked Uncle once if he knew anything. The unfortunate answer was “no.”

He took a deep breath. “I think last week I had only brought it up at the end and you said we would get into it more this week.” She nodded. 

“What happened?” Excellent question.

He shrugged. “All I remember is that she woke me up in the middle of the night to say goodbye. I don’t remember exactly what she said. But I woke up the next morning and she was gone and my father got angry at me for asking about her.” The psychologist acknowledged his statement, picking up her pen and quickly writing something down. Part of him wondered exactly what she was writing. Was it just a summary of what he said? Was it a note of something to bring up later? Could she tell that he was lying about what he remembered from that night? Who knows! 

“I know you said you don’t remember  _ exactly  _ what she said to you, but do you remember the gist of it?” There was warmth in her eyes and voice. He could feel the corners of his eyes begin to prickle. 

Wiping at them, he said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t think I would—”

Dr. Minami held up a hand. “Zuko, it’s fine. You’re allowed to feel whatever you’re feeling and express it freely.” He let out a humorless laugh, only crying harder. 

“Sorry,” he said again. She just gave him a look. “All I remember my mom saying is that she was protecting me and wanted me to be myself.” The decision to be honest wasn’t exactly a conscious one. His mouth seemed to just say it before he could really decide.

“How do you feel about those being her last words to you?”

“Good question,” he said before he stopped his mouth, cringing a little bit at it. There was quiet between them for a moment, tears still rolling down his face. 

“Zuko, have you ever stopped and let yourself really think about that night?” He shook his head. “Do you want a moment to feel your emotions?” He shook his head again. She didn’t continue. 

Taking the cue and a deep breath, Zuko said, “I think I’ve been really confused as to what she meant by it. I’m not sure if she left of her own accord or if she was forced to.” He took a moment to remember how to breathe. “There’s just a lot that I don’t know and it frustrates me.” She nodded. 

“Your sister,” she began. Zuko felt himself go through the  [ five ](https://pics.me.me/neproxrezi-you-can-actually-see-him-go-through-all-five-30539991.png) stages of grief. “Have you ever spoken to her about this?” 

“Our father never let us mention it while in the house.” He skipped a beat, debating a bit whether or not his next statement would be relevant or not. “I also haven’t spoken to her in over five years.” 

* * *

“Zuko, c’mon, dude,” Sokka said, elbowing him. Zuko glanced over at him for only a second, a little preoccupied with kicking Sokka’s ass in Smash to really care. “I think you’ll have a lot of fun.” 

“Sokka, I already said I’m not going,” Zuko grumbled, trying to not lose focus. 

“I can pay for your ticket! Is that it? I don’t mind paying for it if you don’t have the money.” 

“No, that’s not it,” he said, pausing just to counter Sokka’s poorly timed smash attack for the hundredth time today. For as much as Sokka liked to play the game, he was kind of bad at it. “I’m just not going to go, okay?” The screen froze as Sokka basically threw his joy-con onto the floor. Zuko felt his eyebrows furrow as he turned to look over at Sokka. There were hands holding his cheeks. Mouth dried. Blood rushed to his face. Hands went clammy. 

“Zuko, come to prom with me,” Sokka said, staring into his eyes. 

“No.” Sokka groaned, flopping across Zuko’s lap. 

“You’re no fun,” he said, looking up at him. Zuko locked eyes with him and he forgot how to breathe. If life would just stop, he knew he would want to stare at Sokka all day. His blue eyes, good bone structure, and flawless skin. Without thinking, Zuko weaved his fingers through Sokka’s hair, softly rubbing his thumb over his forehead. Neither of them said anything, waiting on the other to break the silence.  _ Should I kiss him? _ he thought ephemerally. Previously, whenever he felt like he should, there was always something stopping him: Sokka was dating Suki, Zuko was at work, they were around friends. He really didn’t have an excuse as to why he wasn’t now. 

Taking his fingers out of his hair, Zuko ran them lightly over Sokka’s cheek. “Not going to prom doesn’t make me no fun, Sokka,” he whispered. Sokka chuckled. 

“You’re so dumb,” he said, while sitting up. “If I beat you this round, you have to come to prom with me.”

“No, Sokka. Shut up,” Zuko said again. Sokka grabbed Zuko by the shirt, pulling him so that they were facing each other.

“Make me.” Zuko’s brain was consumed by Sokka’s hand on his shoulder and the blue eyes piercing his soul. He was breathless, thoughtless. Every part of his body wanted to kiss him. Instead, he put his hand on Sokka’s chest and gently pushed him back. 

“Okay, fine. I’ll come to prom with you,” he acquiesced. Sokka only smiled at him with a tinge of disappointment. 

* * *

“Say cheese!” Uncle said, holding up a camera that he had definitely owned since the early 90s. Zuko felt stupid. Uncle had forced him to sit for ten minutes while he did his hair only to find out that he basically just  [ gelled it a little and split it down the middle. ](https://66.media.tumblr.com/983ea8543b984bdcade117cad1d6d83c/tumblr_inline_nr8jzbw8uO1spg4o9_1280.jpg) Now there were pictures that existed of that and he wanted to commit a  [ crime. ](https://i.redd.it/8ldsxx8g7s211.jpg) Not murder, though. That was a bit too far for how he was feeling. He also didn’t want to actually hurt his uncle in any way, so he just didn’t smile as a form of vengeance. 

“Oh,” Uncle said, holding out the vowel. “Nephew, it’s just a picture. Please, smile.” Maybe he could suck it up. 

Awkwardly, he grinned for his uncle, hoping his friends wouldn’t show up to the park soon. They’d agreed to meet here for pictures, but Uncle wanted to come early to get some pictures of just Zuko. He loved his uncle, but he already felt uncomfortable. The camera loudly snapped a few pictures before Uncle put it down. He gave Zuko a smile, saying, “You can fix your hair now.” 

“Thank fu—” he started to say, his eyes wide. Uncle just looked at him sideways before laughing. It had been five years, but Zuko still had to remind himself sometimes that his uncle was nothing like his father.

“Don’t let me stop you. I don’t care about your language, Nephew.” 

“Thank fuck,” Zuko laughed. Uncle paused a moment for Zuko to catch up with him before ruffling his hair. “Hey!” Zuko spat, putting his hands up to protect his hair. 

“I know you didn’t like the way I did it; I was just helping you,” Uncle chuckled, putting his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie. 

“Thanks,” he mumbled, rolling his eyes a bit. Just as they reached the parking lot, a rusty white Honda pulled in. Zuko couldn’t stop himself from smiling. 

“Guess who just drove four hours round trip?” Sokka yelled as he opened the door. 

“You guys didn’t have to bring me,” Toph argued from the back seat. Sokka rolled his eyes, closing his door and smiling at Zuko. Zuko’s mouth went dry and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. Sokka looked  _ good _ —like  _ really  _ good—or Zuko was incredibly gay for guys in flower print button-ups… apparently. Probably, it was just both. It occurred to him that he really hadn’t seen Sokka wear anything but hoodies, t-shirts, and jeans. Seeing him in a navy blue suit that  _ actually matched _ the flowers on his shirt was a bit much to handle. Slamming of car doors brought Zuko back to reality. 

“You look really nice, Zuko,” Katara said, sounding almost astonished. He looked down at himself. Uncle had found him the gray suit at GoodWill and gotten it fitted by one of his friends. Honestly, Zuko thought he looked just average. He shrugged in reply. She rolled her eyes. “I meant that, dumbass. You do look nice.” He blinked in surprise. It was rare for her to curse and every time she did shocked him a little. 

“Thanks,” he mumbled, glancing over at Uncle. He was sitting on the bench a few yards away, doing something on his phone. 

“I think you all look great,” Toph said, joining them. Katara cursing was surprising, Toph in a dress was bewildering. He didn’t know where she got the dress from; it was pale green and  [ tulle with puffy sleeves. ](https://rockndollstore.com/products/gothic-off-shoulder-lantern-mesh-sleeve-mini-dress) It looked expensive. Did her parents give her money to buy it? Did they even know she was here? Zuko had a lot of questions and not enough guts to ask them.

“Why are you like this?” Sokka asked, feigning a wound. 

“Someone has to keep your ego in check,” she responded with a devilish grin. All the jest dropped from Sokka’s face as he looked legitimately offended. 

“I don’t have an ego!” he tried to argue. Toph just brushed him off. Zuko rolled his eyes and shook his head, making eye contact with Katara. Her hair was down for once, braided loops still framing her face. 

“You look really nice too by the way,” he said, really attempting to not be awkward. She nearly beamed back at him. 

“Thank you! It took me so long to find a dress that I liked. I was a little worried that this one was too plain, but I’m glad I got it.” She paused for a moment before shoving her hands into the sides of the blue dress. “It also has pockets!” Zuko blinked in surprise. 

“Oh,” he said daftly. “That’s good?” Katara let out a laugh. He figured it was  [ probably good. ](https://www.instagram.com/p/CEKhqEUhJi6/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet) More car doors closed somewhere in the parking lot. 

“Hey, guys!” a familiar voice shouted. And there was Aang, running up to them in a white dress shirt with the sleeves cuffed, black pants, and the beat-up tennis shoes that he wore every day. Katara only looked  _ mildly _ frustrated. 

“Aang, did you bring the tie I gave you?” she asked through a gritted smile. 

“Yeah! I have it right here!” he responded, pulling a wrinkled blue tie out of his pocket. “I didn’t put it on because I didn’t know how to tie it and we were running late.” Katara closed her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. Aang quirked an eyebrow and looked over at Zuko and Sokka for help. They had none to offer. 

“What’s happening?” Toph asked bluntly, earning a chuckle from Sokka. “What’s so funny?! I’m wearing shoes, guys! I really don’t know!” Before anyone really got the chance to explain, a bald man with a long white mustache approached them. Aang perked up a bit at his presence. 

“Guys, this is Gyatso. Gyatso, these are my friends: Sokka, Toph, Zuko, and you know Katara already,” he said, pointing to each one of them as he said their name. Zuko gave Gyatso an awkward smile. There was a hand on his left shoulder and he jumped slightly. He turned to find Uncle standing behind him. Uncle of all people should know that he couldn’t see anything behind him out of his left eye.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Gyatso said, turning to make eye contact with Uncle. “Ah, you must be Iroh.” 

“And you’re Gyatso. It’s nice to meet you.” The two shook hands as Uncle returned the pleasantry. 

“I trust that Aang will be in good hands tonight, but I just have a few questions for you.” Zuko tuned out their conversation as they took a few steps away from the friend group. It occurred to him that Uncle could probably use a few friends his age. He knew he had them, he just never saw him go and spend time with them. Should he be more concerned about his uncle? Was his uncle working himself too hard? 

He returned his attention back to his friends. Katara was grumbling about how wrinkled Aang’s shirt was while tying his tie. Sokka was whispering to Toph, visibly trying not to laugh and failing every other word. Toph just wrinkled her nose. 

“How does he not know how to tie a tie?” she asked, a little perplexed. 

“Do you know how to tie one?” Sokka retorted. 

“That is not the point, Sokka,” she said. 

“I think that is entirely the point.” 

Toph huffed, folding her arms. “Where’s Suki? She’d take my side in this.” 

“A. You don’t know that. B. She’s coming later. She’s taking pictures with her basketball friends and then joining us.” 

“Damn, that sucks.” Toph’s face seemed to fall a bit as she said it. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she unfolded her arms. “Are we taking some pictures without her then?” 

“Yeah, we’re just waiting for my dad and Bato—” A car door closed, cutting Sokka off. “Speak of the devil.” 

“Iroh, Gyatso, it’s good to see you both again,” Hakoda said, getting out of the car. Bato was close behind him. “This is my partner, Bato, by the way.” Uncle extended a hand and a greeting, while Gyatso only gave him a bow. 

“Good to meet you,” Bato said, grabbing Uncle by the elbow and shaking. Zuko bit back a chuckle watching his uncle internally panic due to the handshake. Hakoda just gave him a slap on the back. Zuko had really gotten used to aggressive forms of affection from hanging out at their house… and from Toph. 

“The kids are staying with you tonight, right?” Hakoda asked after a moment. The friends just stood around, watching the adults in their lives discuss them right in front of them. 

“Yes. I can give you all my cell phone number if you would like,” he offered. 

“That would be nice,” Hakoda replied. There was an exchange of numbers. Zuko looked over at Sokka, who just gave him a smile. Katara busied herself straightening up Aang’s tie and collar, seeming to have let go of her frustration. Toph huffed. 

“Are you grandpas done yet? Let’s take these damn pictures so we can go eat already.” Every adult looked startled at the comment, besides Uncle, who just chuckled at her. Toph was an acquired taste. Zuko supposed that the rest of them hadn’t really gotten a chance to talk to her before she had moved. 

“We can start now,” Uncle said to her, earning him a strange look from Hakoda and Bato. When Iroh offered no explanation, the two transferred their gaze over to Sokka. Zuko watched him straighten a bit under their gaze and he put a hand on Toph’s shoulder. 

“This is Toph, by the way,” he said, glancing over at Zuko. Hakoda just raised an eyebrow. 

“Ah, so she’s who you went to pick up today.” 

“Yup,” Sokka said, popping the “p.” Gyatso clapped his hands together a moment after. 

“Well, let’s get started, shall we?” And so they did. 

And it was awkward. 

Or Zuko was just feeling awkward about it. Sokka had decided to stand right next to him so his arm was wrapped around his waist; Zuko’s arm was over his shoulders. It would have felt more intimate had they not had an audience and had his other arm not been wrapped around Toph’s shoulders as well. Nonetheless, his skin felt hot under Sokka’s touch. He really hoped he wasn’t blushing. More importantly, hopefully, Toph couldn’t feel how hard this heart was beating. Even though he’d told Sokka he had a crush on him, he still didn’t want it to be obvious. They were best friends… who both liked each other… four months ago. 

Dr. Minami was right that he really should talk to Sokka about things. It had been two weeks since she had told him that; he simply just hadn’t gotten around to it. Or if he was being honest with himself, he was scared to have that conversation. Sokka was his best friend and maybe he wasn’t ready for their relationship to change. Back in December when they both sort of talked about their feelings, they had an excuse. Now there was none. Zuko’s three months had gone faster than he had anticipated and now they had been up for weeks. The flash went off on Uncle’s camera. 

“Turn the flash off, Uncle,” Zuko complained. Aang rubbed at his eyes, while Katara just blinked rapidly—he didn’t dare look over at Sokka. There was just a chuckled apology from him. Part of Zuko was glad that something had interrupted his thoughts. He made himself so anxious sometimes. 

“Sorry, I’m late!” A voice shouted from somewhere near the parking lot. Suki. She was running over uneven ground in heels, holding the front of her dress. Sometimes she couldn’t be more impressive. 

“Suki!” Toph yelled, letting go of Zuko and kicking her flats off. Her grin widened. “There you are!” she exclaimed as she took off to embrace her. Suki dropped her dress in time to literally lift Toph in the air. 

“I didn’t know you’d be here! How was the drive from Omashu?” Suki asked, setting her down. 

“It was long and boring and I am so hungry,” Toph said nonchalantly, still smiling. Out of the corner of his eye, Zuko saw Hakoda and Bato exchange a look as if they were trying to figure out what they had just witnessed. He supposed that if he didn’t know Toph as well as he did, he’d find the scene pretty baffling too. Gyatso remarkably looked as unphased as Uncle. 

Suki laughed. “Well, let’s finish up with pictures so we can get you fed.” Zuko had to agree that he also wanted this to just be over with. He was beginning to feel like the adults were having more fun than the people actually going to prom were. More than likely, Uncle was planning on finding the most awkward one of Zuko and framing in the apartment. Sokka was stifling laughter next to him. 

“What’s so funny?” Zuko asked a bit more irritated than he intended. 

“What if we took pictures in those  [ awkward couple’s poses?” ](https://www.ecosia.org/images?q=awkward+prom+poses)

“Sokka, no,” Katara said, rolling her eyes. “I think we all have plenty of pictures.” 

“Yeah, I want to go get dinner!” Toph agreed. 

“C’mon, it’ll be fun,” he argued.

“Shut up, Sokka,” Zuko grumbled. Weirdly, Sokka almost actually listened, looking over at Zuko with his mouth open. 

“Make me.” Zuko damn near went into cardiac arrest. If he wasn’t blushing before, he surely was now. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. Not sure what to say, Zuko just looked over at Uncle who seemed to be trying not to laugh at him. Sokka’s face fell as he watched Zuko’s reaction. “Oh fuck,” he whispered to himself, before looking over at his dad and Bato and then back at Zuko.  _ Sokka isn’t out to his family yet.  _ Katara let go of Aang’s hand, taking a step towards her brother. The rest of them weren’t aware of the issue at hand. 

Was it a big deal? No. Hakoda had seemed to be nothing but supportive of his children. Sokka just hadn’t been ready to tell him yet. Hesitantly, Zuko reached out and gave his hand a squeeze. Visibly, Sokka relaxed a little, but there was still panic in his eyes. Hakoda just sighed and whispered something to Bato, before turning back towards his son. 

“Sokka, I already knew you were gay. It’s okay!” he sort of shouted so that Sokka would actually hear. The tension left Sokka’s shoulder. 

“I’m  [ ambidextrous, ](https://www.instagram.com/p/CDeJaZpl4l0/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet) Dad,” he semi-shouted back. Unadulterated bewilderment flashed over Hakoda’s face. Zuko honestly couldn’t blame him. He wasn’t sure why Sokka had said it either. But after he finished laughing at himself, Sokka corrected, “I’m actually bi!” 

“That makes more sense!” Bato just patted Hakoda on the shoulder and mumbled something to him. 

* * *

“It’s so loud!” Toph yelled over the  [ music, ](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3CtZ4zXpIIWrV2DbqIKvTE?si=w5ummbxCRQypgO3AsdaL8Q) covering her ears. The volume was overwhelming on it’s own. She couldn’t see the strobing lights or the mass of bodies around them. Zuko gently grabbed her elbow. He didn’t want her to walk into anyone.

“Let’s head over to the side,” Suki said to the group. They gave her a nod, following her lead. Things got significantly quieter once they were out of the direct line of the speakers. Toph rubbed at her ears. 

“Much better,” she said. “I’m really glad I was allowed to take my shoes off here.” 

Aang smiled. “Yeah, I’m really excited to try to teach you how to dance!” 

Toph smirked a bit. “I’d like to see you try, Twinkle Toes.” 

“It’s easy—” he said, pulling her off to one side of the group and making the rest of their conversation unintelligible. 

“Suki! There you are!” a girl with long black hair exclaimed as she grabbed Suki’s shoulder. “You will not believe it! They found Emi’s flask and didn’t let her in and now Kalla is super worried that they’ll be able to tell she’s high and she’ll get kicked out.” She started dragging her away as she finished her statement. 

“I’ll find you guys in a bit!” Suki promised as she disappeared into the crowd. And that left three. Zuko shifted his weight on his feet a bit. He just felt awkward. He never went to any of the homecoming dances or his junior prom. What was he supposed to do? He didn’t even know how to dance! He was pretty sure that he never actually wanted to come in the first place, Sokka just wore him down enough that he gave in. Whatever song had been on died out and something…  [ familiar ](https://youtu.be/YdW69V34GfY) started. Everyone seemed to stop dancing, but no one really left the dance floor. Aang and Toph rejoined the group.

Sokka grinned at him. “I forgot this song existed!” 

“Yeah? What song is this?” Zuko apparently asked a lot of stupid questions. Sokka’s eyebrows furrowed and he looked appalled. 

“How do you not know ‘Sweet Caroline’ by Niel Diamond?” 

Zuko shrugged. “I mean I recognized it. I just didn’t know the—” 

The crowd was scream-singing in unison. Zuko was a little shocked. Part of him knew that the song was still beloved, he just didn’t realize that anyone his age still knew it. He just assumed he recognized it because it was something Uncle used to play. He just gave Sokka a look. Sokka laughed. 

“Sweet Caroline,” Neil Diamond sang in unison with a bunch of teenagers. The music cut momentarily to heighten the volume of the, “BUM BUM BUM,” that came from  [ the drunk children. ](https://youtu.be/0dbJHppgrHc?t=114) It continued like that through the verse. The music would cut so that his peers—including three of his friends—could shout “SO GOOD, SO GOOD, SO GOOD” and “BUM BUM BUM.” It was baffling. It partially reminded him of when kids would add extra lines to “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” in elementary school. 

The excitement died for a moment, before the pre-chorus came through again. Suddenly, Sokka grabbed Zuko’s hand. He looked down at their hands for a moment before making eye contact with Sokka. Was he  _ singing? _ To  _ him? _ It had been a while since Zuko had had a best friend, but he felt like this  _ wasn’t _ platonic. 

“—touching me, touching you!” It was all Zuko could hear Sokka say before he let go of his hand in favor of wrapping his arm around his waist. Only a second passed before Sokka looked at him. “It’s okay to sing, Zuko! You’re allowed to have fun!” 

“Uh, okay,” Zuko said intelligently. And so he did. Not with as much fervor and excitement as Sokka, but he sang. He didn’t fully understand the added lyrics, but he would sing along. After the second time through the verse, the DJ randomly cut the song. A few people booed until the first beats of the next started. 

“Guys, what just happened?” Toph asked. 

“What do you mean?” Aang clarified. 

“When did ‘Sweet Caroline’ get more lyrics?” There was only laughter in response. Zuko was a little glad to know that he wasn’t the only one that didn’t know that there was shouting involved with that song. 

Katara gasped. Grabbing Aang’s shoulder, she exclaimed, “Holy shit, I love  [ ‘Come On Eileen.’ ](https://youtu.be/GbpnAGajyMc?t=7) ” At the same time, Suki came running back over to them. 

“Guys! This is my jam!” 

“Mine too!” The two just smiled at each other before singing together at the top of their lungs. Zuko hoped one day he could have enough self-confidence to be as carefree as they were. He couldn’t see himself ever just dancing and singing because he liked a song while standing in a crowd of strangers. Fingers were digging into his bicep. 

“Just dance,” Sokka said, smiling at him. Zuko glanced over at his friends. Aang was spinning Toph, who was  _ giggling _ for once. Katara and Suki were kind of getting in each other’s faces, smiling and singing along to the incomprehensible lyrics with baffling certainty. At that point, he was the only one  _ not _ dancing and just enjoying himself for once. 

Rolling his eyes, he just mumbled, “Fine.”

It was strange, just letting himself dance. If he was being honest, it was actually sort of fun. Throughout the song, Sokka grabbed his arms and hands, forcing Zuko to dance with him. Part of him still wasn’t sure if he was supposed to interpret any of this as  [ flirting. ](https://www.instagram.com/p/CEFJ6yWhOP3/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet) After “Come on Eileen” ended, the physical contact stopped for a while. Which was  _ okay. _ Sokka didn’t have to touch him. Zuko just liked it when he did, that was all. But he was beginning to feel like all of this was Sokka being platonically touchy. His hockey friends were around here somewhere, afterall. 

About an hour in, the music slowed and everyone wordlessly grouped up. Aang and Katara were obviously doing their own thing. What surprised Zuko was that Suki offered to teach Toph to slow dance, leaving him and Sokka alone. Neither of them looked over at the other as the rest of the group swayed to the music. Finally, Sokka, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, cleared his throat. 

“You want to go get water or something?” 

Zuko shrugged. “Sure.” And so they wandered off the dance floor to the cooler full of water. Sokka took a sip of water, not making eye contact with Zuko. 

“Do you think Toph and Suki like each other?” he asked finally. 

“Toph told me that she had a crush on her for a bit, but then found out that she’s almost eighteen. I think they just have a lot of platonic chemistry,” Zuko answered nonchalantly. Sokka nodded. 

“Makes sense. I was just asking because I was just going to be really mad if Toph technically stole my girlfriend. But Suki’s been talking to me recently about a girl on the cheer squad named Ty Lee. ” Zuko chuckled slightly, taking a drink. They stood there in silence for a moment, people slowly entering the lobby as the slow song ended. “We should get back,” Sokka said. Zuko nodded and they made their way to their friends. 


	2. Honey, Come Put Your Lips on Mine and Shut Me Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night after prom and all the shenanigans that follow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey so here's the second chapter!! this one was my favorite to write so I hope y'all like it  
> CW: there is sort of explicit underage drinking in this chapter. there's also brief mentions of drug use and of psychiatric hospitals.

“Guys, we need to be quiet. Some of my neighbors have kids,” Zuko shushed as they made their way up the stairs, being louder than a herd of gorilla-goats. 

“Who cares, Sparky. Fuck them kids,” Toph retorted, though she lowered her voice slightly. Katara hit her on the back of the shoulder with her free hand, carrying her heels in the other. This prompted Toph to stop on the steps, Katara walking straight into her. 

“Hey!” Katara whisper-yelled, shoving her only slightly. 

“Can you two behave for two seconds?” Sokka asked indignantly. “We’re literally almost there.” Katara just stuck her tongue out at him. 

“Katara started it,” Toph mumbled, grinning slightly. Sometimes, Zuko forgot how much younger some of his friends were from him. Other times, they were aggressively obvious about it. Sighing slightly, he fumbled to get his keys out of his pocket. 

“Can you guys please be quiet? I don’t know if my uncle is still up or not and—” The door flew open before he could even get his key out. Jumping, he looked over to meet Uncle’s eyes. 

“I was worried that I would fall asleep and wouldn’t know whether you all made it here safely or not. Luckily for me, I could hear you all from two floors down,” Uncle teased with a warm smile. He didn’t sound or look angry for being as passive aggressive as he was. 

“Sorry, Iroh,” Toph said, pushing past him and letting herself into the apartment. This bold action came with the instant karma of her walking straight into their kitchen table. “Ow!” 

Sokka bit his lip in an attempt to not laugh at her. Uncle just shook his head fondly. Stepping back, he let the rest of them inside. “I have water boiling if any of you would like some tea.” 

“I’ll take lavender, if you have any,” Katara said. Uncle gave her a genuine smile. 

“Good choice. Lucky for you, I just got some earlier this week so it’s fresh.” She returned the smile, setting her shoes down by the door. 

“I’ll take some lavender too,” Suki said, flopping down on their sofa. 

“I’ll pass, thank you,” Aang mumbled, rubbing at his eyes. “Can I use your bathroom to change, though?” 

“Of course! It’s the door on the right,” Uncle chuckled heartily. Aang said some sort of thanks, making his way over there. 

“Zuko, I’m changing in your room,” Sokka stated, practically there already. Zuko just rolled his eyes. 

“‘Kay,” he said, sitting at the kitchen table. He was ready to get out of his sweaty dress clothes, but he guessed it was  _ fine _ that Sokka used his room first. Uncle busied himself in the kitchenette, humming slightly. Toph flung herself onto the couch next to Suki, putting her head in her lap. 

“Can someone help me get my hair out of this fucking bun?” she demanded, her hair showing the damage of her previous attempts. Katara sat herself on the floor, turned so she could help Suki pull bobby pins out of Toph’s hair. Zuko wouldn’t mind spending the rest of his life in a moment like this. Everyone was so happy and comfortable. He knew it was fleeting. Things couldn’t stay just like this forever, but he’d like them to. 

Sokka walked out of his bedroom. “Is that my shirt?” Zuko asked, perplexed. Sokka smirked at him slightly, glancing down at the stolen My Chemical Romance t-shirt that had lived at the back of Zuko’s closet since middle school. Realization swept over him. “Did you go through my closet?” 

“So what if I did? You won’t do anything about it,” Sokka retorted, sitting down in one of the kitchen chairs near him. He was right, Zuko wasn’t going to do anything about it, but he could still be irked about it. Zuko looked over in time to catch a knowing glance from his uncle. Sometimes, he really wished that Sokka was a little less forthcoming with his feelings. 

“Did—did I hear that right?” Toph said from the couch as Aang walked out. “Sokka, did you forget to tell me that you and Zuko were  _ dating _ during our two hour carride?” She was audibly miffed, not moving as Katara and Suki worked on her hair. They both, however, paused to look back at the two. 

“We are not dating,” Zuko clarified. “Sokka’s just an asshole.” 

“You know you love me,” Sokka said, ruffling Zuko’s hair. Still annoyed about the t-shirt, he pushed his hand away, giving him a partial glare for good measure. Uncle just chuckled to himself from the kitchen. Zuko rolled his eyes, feeling more defensive than anything else. 

“Whatever. I’m going to go change into  _ my _ clothes,” he said. 

* * *

“Guys, I really don’t want to go back to Omashu. That school fucking sucks.” They had collected themselves around the kitchen table. There wasn’t enough room for them all on the couch, plus Katara and Suki were trying to be Good Guests™ and not spill tea on the fabric couch.

“I’m sorry, Toph,” Katara said, reaching out to place her hand on Toph’s shoulder. She leaned into the affection slightly. 

“Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate all of it. The headmaster is _ fucking Bumi _ afer all and he lets me come into his office all the time to hang out and—” 

“I’m sorry, but do you mean the headmaster  _ is _ Bumi or are they just  _ fucking _ Bumi?” Sokka asked, sitting up slightly. He was  _ so fucking _ stupid sometimes. 

“I mean he  _ is _ Bumi, like the musician. He retired in the late 80s apparently and moved to Omashu and opened up a school for the blind.” Sokka looked a bit incredulous. Zuko exchanged a look with him.

“Why would a retired rockstar decide to live in  _ Michigan _ of all places let alone open up a school for the blind?” he questioned, making wild hand motions. 

“Why would I fucking know!” Toph retorted, throwing her hands in the air.

“He wanted to do good in the world with all the money he made,” Uncle added, smiling slightly and not taking his eyes off the teapot he was cleaning. The group all collectively turned to look at him. Evidently feeling their eyes on him, he chuckled and looked up. “Bumi is a good friend of mine.” 

“How do you know him?” Zuko asked, fully unaware of this part of his uncle’s life. He just hummed, making Zuko scrunch up his nose and give him a look. 

“Iroh, I gotta be honest with you,” Toph began, lifting her leg onto the chair so she could rest her chin against her knee. “I trust you on a lot of things, but you’re being too vague on this for it to be real.” 

“That is fair,” he said with a chuckle. “However, I assure you that we are friends.” 

“Prove it then, Iroh.” It earned another chortle from Zuko’s uncle. He sat the pot down and leaned up against the counter. Casually, he picked up his phone, dialed a number, and put it on speaker phone. It rang once. 

“Ah, Iroh. I was wondering when you would call,” a voice answered on the other end. Sokka sat up straighter, his brow furrowing and mouth hanging open. 

“My nephew has friends over tonight and they didn’t believe that we were acquainted,” Uncle chuckled. A strange snorting laugh came through the phone. Zuko inwardly cringed, hoping that he didn’t sound like that when he laughed. 

“Does one of them happen to be a certain Toph Beifong?” Confusion washed over Uncle’s features and he turned to look at Toph. Her mouth pulled to one side and her eyebrows creased together. Apparently, no one knew where this conversation was going.

“Yes,” Uncle responded with slight hesitation.

“Tell her Professor B says hi,” he said with a snort. 

“Hi!” she shouted, just loud enough to be picked up by the phone microphone. Professor B just laughed. Zuko was aware that a lot of rockstars in the 70s and 80s did a lot of drugs, he just never realized what the long term effects of them were.

“You should have told me I was on speaker, Iroh,” he commented. Changing tone, he loudly said, “Hello, children! I’m Bumi, but you may call me Professor B.” There was a brief pause. “Also, don’t you know all old people know each other? Respect your elders!” Zuko didn’t realize that he would be such a gleeful person. For some reason, he assumed most rock singers were always solemn. He guessed he probably just needed to check his biases more often. 

Sokka grabbed his arm. “Your uncle knows Bumi!” he whispered in disbelief, mouth slightly agape. Zuko just gave him a shrug. There was a stir of quiet chatter around the table as the friend group tried to process what they were hearing. His uncle was so mild-mannered and  _ normal _ that it was baffling to hear that he somehow knew a famous musician so well that he had his phone number. What was more bewildering was that said musician took his calls no matter what time of day. The adults had continued the conversation without them. 

“—do better with you,” Bumi said. Uncle rubbed at his temple. 

“Financially, I cannot handle another child right now, Bumi,” Uncle said. Toph’s leg fell to the floor and she sat up in her chair. 

“That’s why I would pay you to be her personal tutor in adult life!” Uncle just blinked. Toph reached out and grabbed Aang’s hand. 

“I—” He let out a breath. “Legally how would you be able to put her in my custody?” 

“Easy! Her parents signed a contract with me that gives me full power over where I place her within my school’s network. I’ll hire you and then you’ll be in our network!” As good of a plan as it seemed to be, Zuko felt like there were a lot of things that Bumi was just simply ignoring. However, he supposed that was something you could get away with if you had money.

“And what about my business? Where am I supposed to house her? There’s not another bedroom in my home,” Uncle tried to argue. Bumi just laughed. 

“Iroh, you’re not listening well. You will be teaching her about adult life! There’s nothing more you have to do for her other than parent her! And as one of my staff members, I can pay for your living arrangements,” Bumi said. There was a quiet moment. Uncle just stared at the ceiling, eyes darting slightly as he thought. Zuko looked over at Toph. She seemed close to tears. 

“When can we get her things so I can discuss the details with you further?” Uncle asked finally. A smile broke across Toph’s face as a tear rolled from her right eye. 

“Tomorrow is good! The sooner the better for my favorite student.” Toph leaped from her chair, quickly embracing Iroh. 

“Thank you thank you thank you,” she murmured, muffled by the hug. 

“Anything for you, Toph,” Bumi said genuinely. Skipping a beat, he continued, “Well, I need to sleep. See you all tomorrow!” And he hung up. The six of them who could see all shared looks of disbelief amongst themselves. 

* * *

“All I’m saying is that Shrek is a great piece of cinema,” Sokka argued. Suki just rolled her eyes and threw her pillow at him. “Hey! You know I’m right!” 

“I mean I wouldn’t mind watching Shrek,” Aang said, trying to move the conversation along. Katara shoved him gently with her shoulder. 

“Don’t agree with Sokka. It feeds his ego,” she loudly whispered. There was laughter. 

“Why are you guys ganging up on me?” Sokka asked, only sounding partially hurt. 

“Well, it really doesn’t matter to me what movie we watch,” Toph said, laying on her back with her legs folded. 

“You can still listen to it!” Sokka argued. Zuko rolled his eyes, knowing that Sokka was probably about to start on some tangent about the soundtrack. Which he did. Partway through, he caught his uncle’s gaze. Uncle merely pointed towards his bedroom door and got up from the kitchen table. Glancing briefly over at his friends, Zuko quietly followed him. It didn’t seem urgent, but he could feel his anxiety spike a bit. Uncle’s face was neutral, but Zuko could see the concern in his eyes.

Closing the door behind him, Uncle said, “I assume you’re coming with us tomorrow.” 

Zuko nodded. “Yeah, if I can, I want to.” Uncle just patted his shoulder. 

“Of course. I’m renting a truck so we’ll have enough room for her things. There’s just something else I wanted to talk to you about.” All Zuko could think to do was stare. Uncle took a deep breath. “If you want, we can go see Azula tomorrow. I know that you have said that you would tell me when you were ready to know about what’s happening with them, but I thought I should ask since the opportunity arose.” Zuko just stared at him. Omashu was around half an hour away from where he grew up. 

Eyebrows furrowed, he asked, “Is she in Omashu or would we be driving to see her?” 

“She’s in Omashu. She’s been living at a psychiatric facility there for about a month. Li and Lo told me last week.” It was a lot to process all at once. Zuko would be lying if he said that part of him didn’t miss his sister. But it had been so long since he’d seen her. He knew what kind of person  _ he _ had been while living there; she’d had five extra years to internalize venom from their father. His life had changed so much without her. Then there was also the question of why she was in a psychiatric facility. What had happened to her? What would they even talk about? Uncle put his hand on his shoulder. 

“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” Uncle reassured. Zuko shook his head. 

“No, no. I think I do want to see her. I just… What would I even say to her?” Uncle gave him a smile and pulled him into a comforting hug. 

“I’m sure it’ll come to you.” With that, Uncle held him out at arms length. “Now, go back to your friends. I’m going to sleep.” Zuko just nodded, letting himself out. 

“ [ Zuko! ](https://youtu.be/skaKMmi1Rzg?t=4) ” Sokka said, the second he came back into his line of vision. “You agree with me, right?” 

He just  [ blinked. ](https://media1.tenor.com/images/7b203c513441049adf82b788891018d6/tenor.gif?itemid=7831341) “What?” he asked, having totally forgotten the conversation. 

“You agree that Shrek is a cinematic masterpiece, right?” His friends were all staring at him. Zuko rubbed a palm over his good eye. 

“If I’m being totally honest, I don’t think I’ve watched Shrek all the way through,” he answered. Sokka looked flabbergasted. 

“Well, then we have to watch it!” Sokka insisted. 

“If you’re going to be so stubborn about this, then I’m fine with it,” Suki laughed, seeming like she really didn’t care in the first place and just wanted to mess with him. Katara, on the other hand, legitimately huffed in response. 

“Guess I can watch it for the  [ fifth ](https://youtu.be/eT3BFzSD6YY) time this week,” she grumbled, sinking into the couch. Sokka smiled. 

“Great! Glad we all agree now!” And with that conclusion, he hit start. Zuko settled on the floor, his back resting up against a part of the couch that was free of his friend’s legs. Katara and Aang cuddled on the couch. Suki was curled into the opposite corner from them. Toph was already in her sleeping bag, picking at something on one of her toes. And Sokka slid off the couch behind him to sit directly next to him on the floor. Zuko’s shoulders tensed a bit. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t Sokka around, he just sort of wanted to be somewhat  [ alone ](https://youtu.be/ohKGB9ZLuaY?t=34) to think. 

Thinking would evidently come later because as Zuko pulled his legs up into his chest, Sokka casually reached over and squeezed his thigh.  _ Oh, fuck. _ He knew that either all the blood had just drained from his face or he had just turned bright red. Sokka had grabbed his thigh before and they had talked about it and Zuko said he was fine with it; he just had never done it around their friends. Not that any of them were paying attention, they all seemed pretty concentrated on either the movie or their phones.

“You know, the  [ music ](https://youtu.be/Q7YCTJxfcA4) in this works so well because they use pop for moments where the characters feel pressure from society and original scores where they express their true selves,” Sokka muttered to him. Zuko just hummed, which resulted in him getting shoved slightly. “I told you that this film is a masterpiece,” Sokka continued at a whisper. “I just want you to appreciate it the way I do.” 

Rolling his eyes, Zuko whispered back, “Just shut up and let me watch it, Sokka.” And he did. Sort of. Sokka huffed a bit, mumbling something under his breath and putting his head on Zuko’s shoulder. Zuko was carrying so much tension that it felt like his shoulder blades were touching. He couldn’t breathe and his brain couldn’t focus on anything other than the head on him. No one was saying anything about it. They all knew, right? None of them really cared. Zuko tried to force himself to focus on calming down. His friends had made it abundantly clear that they loved and supported him no matter what. They weren’t going to get angry at him for this. He was safe. This was  _ okay. _

They all just watched the movie quietly. Eventually, Sokka lifted his head from his shoulder. One by one their friends decided to go to sleep, whoever was still up muttering goodnights to them. Zuko’s brain didn’t even fully process that he and Sokka were the only two awake, too concentrated on the movie and Sokka’s shoulder touching his, their hands brushing every once in a while. As Suki sprawled across the couch to sleep, Sokka’s arm found its way around Zuko’s back. And it stayed there until the credits rolled. 

“Are you up for watching the second one?” Sokka asked over Eddie Murphy’s singing. 

Zuko scoffed. “Sokka, it’s literally almost two in the morning.” 

“So? It’s not like we have anywhere to be tomorrow.” Sokka’s head returned to Zuko’s shoulder. He really wished he could stay like that for the rest of the night. 

“I’m helping get Toph’s things tomorrow. I don’t know exactly what time, but I know we have to drive over to Omashu,” Zuko answered, feeling almost regretful about it. Sokka squeezed him, his arm still around Zuko’s back. Tentatively, Zuko decided to rest his cheek against Sokka’s hair and continue. “We’re also going to go see my sister.” 

At that, Sokka pulled back and sat up so he could look at Zuko. [_Way to go, idiot,_](https://youtu.be/609YTBQzQyY) he thought to himself. “Haven’t you not seen your sister in _years?_ ” There was shock in his voice. Zuko just nodded. “Holy _fuck,_ why are you going to see her _now?_ ” 

Zuko leaned his head back against the couch, careful to not disturb Suki. “Apparently, she’s inpatient at a psych hospital near Toph’s school. My uncle asked me if I’d like to see her while we’re over there tomorrow. I said yes, but I don’t know what the hell I’d say to her. ‘Sorry I left you alone with dad for five years?’ Nothing I’d say would actually make any difference to her.” He sighed. “I really hadn’t thought it through when I agreed to go.” Sokka looked over at Katara, sleeping contently under a blanket on the floor. 

“She’s your sister. I’m sure it’ll be okay,” he said eventually, meeting Zuko’s eyes. For some reason, a chuckle escaped Zuko’s mouth. He guessed it was a little funny that he  _ knew _ he was making a stupid decision and the two people closest to him were telling him it would be okay. They weren’t setting him up to fail, he just felt like an idiot. Rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands, he stood up and started towards the fridge. 

“Where are you going?” Sokka whispered, getting up to follow. 

[ Turning to look at him ](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/023/491/Screen_Shot_2017-07-24_at_2.33.06_PM.jpg) briefly, Zuko answered, “To get the vodka out of the fridge. Want any?” 

It was Sokka’s turn to chuckle. “Hell yeah.” 

* * *

Zuko felt warm. The burning in his throat had subsided and now he just felt warm inside. Sokka was sitting on the linoleum in front of him, drinking directly from the bottle. Neither of them felt like washing the glasses once they were done nor did they care about germs. They both had pulled their knees into their chests, their legs touching each other’s. Sokka put the bottle down next to him and started twisting the cap back on. 

“I don’t want to be hungover tomorrow. My gran would never let me come back over if I was,” he explained. Zuko chuckled a little. Sokka smiled at him. He was so  [ pretty. ](https://www.instagram.com/p/CEC232pFHVZ/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet) His dark hair hung in front of his sea-blue eyes and his smile was captivating. Without thinking, Zuko reached up and cupped Sokka’s cheek. The other teen leaned into the touch. They just smiled at eachother like idiots for a moment, before Sokka broke the silence. “I’m so glad I got to take you to prom. I never got to go with Yue and tonight would have really sucked without you.”

Zuko’s smile dropped. “Sokka—” 

“She died a year ago.” The silence that crept in this time was deafening. How was he supposed to respond to that?  _ Sorry your first girlfriend died and you miss her? _ He wasn’t good enough with words to make it work.

Uncertainly, Zuko took Sokka’s hand. They both just stared at their interlocking fingers for a moment. But Zuko’s mouth was speaking before his brain caught on. “We can go talk to her if you’d like.” Mentally, he was kicking himself for the suggestion. Thankfully, Sokka was nodding. 

They got up, put the bottle of vodka back, and walked to Zuko’s room. He opened the blinds, letting the moonlight wash over his best friend sitting on his bed. It was late, Zuko was tired. He flopped backwards onto his mattress so that he could stare out the window too. Uncle was snoring faintly through the wall. A car honked. People were talking. The moon shone alone in the sky. Sokka leaned back, resting on his hands behind him. 

“I really only ever talk to her when I’m alone,” Sokka said. Zuko wasn’t sure how long they had sat there for, a minute, ten. 

“That’s okay. I can leave if you want me to.” Sokka shook his head and laughed a little. 

“It’s okay. I think I just don’t know what to say because  [ I get stupid ](https://www.instagram.com/p/CDbxNpDF4dl/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet) around people I have a crush on.” Zuko rolled his head so that he could look at Sokka, who sat back up. “Maybe I’m drunker than I thought,” he mumbled. 

“You had, like, two swigs. It wasn't that much,” Zuko commented. Sokka kicked him lightly in the shin. 

“I haven’t really drank in six months, dude.” 

Laughing a little, he sat up. “Why not?” Sokka shrugged. 

“Well, I sort of stopped going to parties after the shrooms incident. At home, I only ever drank when I really missed her. But I stopped after Dr. Minami told us that stuff about letting yourself really feel your emotions in order to process them.” Zuko just stared at him. Sokka didn’t look over at him, pulling his feet up onto the bed and hugging his knees into his chest. With more certainty than before, he reached over and weaved his fingers in between Sokka’s. His thoughts drifted back to his last conversation with the psychologist. 

“It’s been four months,” he commented. Sokka looked over at him. Nervously, he ran his thumb over Zuko’s. Part of Zuko was glad that he didn’t need to clarify for Sokka. But the other part of him was panicked by the realization that he remembered that promise. 

“Bet you’re wondering why I didn’t speak to you sooner, huh?” Sokka said after a moment. 

“Not really,” he answered honestly, taking Sokka by surprise. “I’ve been scared for a month that you’d lost feelings for me and I was going to fuck up our friendship.” 

Sokka just chuckled, leaning in slightly. “You are so fucking stupid.” Zuko rolled his eyes, making him chuckle more. “I’ve been trying to get you to kiss me for months. I thought I was being so obvious, dude.”

“Don’t call me ‘dude’ while confessing your feelings for me,” Zuko complained. Sokka legitimately laughed. 

“Can I call you ‘my guy’ instead?” he asked like an asshole. Zuko let go of his hand in favor of shoving him. He only laughed more. 

And as the laughter died, they were only left with the significance of their words. Sokka fiddled with the hem of his pants, looking down at his socks. He looked almost ethereal in the moonlight, his eyes shining and his skin glowing. All Zuko wanted was to kiss the lip that he kept biting between his teeth. Hoping that he wasn’t misreading anything, Zuko reached over and cupped Sokka’s face. As their eyes met, Sokka reached up and placed his hand over Zuko’s, his legs sliding back down. There was a moment where neither of them dared to move. Sokka just rubbed his thumb over the back of Zuko’s hand and they both stared. 

One of them leaned in and their lips brushed. For a second, they just existed like that, faces far too close to be platonic, but not exactly kissing. Then Sokka let out a breathy chuckle, drawing Zuko in to close the gap. Sokka’s hand ran down his arm until it found its way to his waist. The other one came up to cup his neck. Zuko’s hand left Sokka’s cheek and nestled itself in his hair. His lips were chapped. His face was sharp from stubble. He tasted like vodka. It was better than Zuko had ever imagined. 

Sokka pulled away first, his thumb running over Zuko’s jaw. “I’ve wanted to do that for months,” he finally said, as if it weren’t obvious now. Zuko laughed. 

“Me too.” Sokka let out a laugh as well, just staring at him for a moment. As Zuko debated whether he should kiss him again, Sokka’s eyebrows furrowed, seeming to come to a nonplus. “What’s wrong?” 

Sokka sighed. “Zuko, are you drunk?” It was a gentle and unexpected question. Should he feel concerned about it? He assumed not.

“No,” he laughed a little. “I didn’t have  _ that _ much vodka. I’m probably just buzzed at best, tipsy at worse.” Sokka’s face seemed to relax a little. After a moment, Zuko took his hand asked, “Are you drunk?” Sokka chuckled.

“No, no. I have a higher tolerance than that, even if it has been six months,” he quipped, squeezing Zuko’s hand quickly and rubbing his thumb over the back of it. He had noticed that Sokka fidgeted often, but it was interesting to be a part of it, to feel him trying to relieve his stress. Sokka sighed, bringing Zuko back to the moment. “I don’t know. I just got really worried that you  _ were _ drunk because you’ve been laughing a lot which is  _ really weird _ for you but like I don’t want you to be drunk because drunk people  _ can’t _ consent and that’s not how I want to start whatever this is and also because I really like you dude and I don’t ever want to make you feel uncomfortable about anything—” 

“Sokka,” Zuko said, trying to get him to stop. 

“—so like I don’t want you to wake up tomorrow and regret any of this—” 

“Sokka,” he repeated, grabbing his face to make him look him in the eyes. Thankfully, Sokka stopped. “Shut up. You’re fine, it’s fine.” The statement earned Zuko a laugh. 

“Consent is always important, Zuko. If you had paid any attention in Health, you would have known that.” 

“Sokka, I knew it was important before taking Health.” 

“Well, I’m just saying, I’m not in the wrong here for stopping and making sure that this was all okay with you because if it’s not, then we can alway stop so if you’re not comfortable just tell me and I’ll stop because again I really don’t want you to—” Zuko leaned forward and  [ kissed ](https://youtu.be/xYqALMnfTSA?t=50) him again. Was that a great move in a conversation about consent? No. No it wasn't. He just wanted Sokka to stop worrying and stop rambling.

As he pulled away, Sokka just chuckled a bit. “You know, you could have told me just to ‘shut up’ again, instead of kissing me while I’m talking about  _ consent _ of all things.” He leaned forward and gave Zuko a quick peck on the cheek. “I didn’t  _ mind _ , just  _ really, _ dude?” Zuko could feel his face flushing. 

“Yeah, sorry. I just—sorry. I didn’t really think it through.” Sokka just chuckled a little, lacing his fingers through Zuko’s. There was quiet as Zuko thought through everything Sokka had said in his ramble. Sokka, too, seemed to realize that this conversation wasn’t fully over yet, his face falling a bit. Zuko took his fingers back in order to squeeze Sokka’s hand. Absentmindedly, Sokka started rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand. “Are—are we dating now?” Zuko asked hesitantly. Sokka’s thumb froze as he met Zuko’s gaze.  _ Oh shit, I fucked it up, that’s not what he was talking about, oh fuck, I— _

“Y-yeah, like, if you want to,” Sokka answered, looking at him for confirmation with a smile beginning to crack over his face. Zuko’s stomach filled with butterflies and his heart fluttered. He damn near felt giddy. He felt  _ stupid; _ his brain was fully unable to articulate anything. It had been years since he’d felt that happy. So he just nodded, smiling at Sokka like an idiot. Sokka let out a laugh, cupping Zuko’s cheek. “You’re so cute.” 

Playfully, he gave him a shove and rolled his eyes. “I’m not cute.” Sokka’s hand returned to his cheek. Zuko leaned into it, making eye contact with his boyfriend. And Sokka leaned in towards him. Feeling his eyelids close, Zuko let their lips touch for the fourth time that night. As Sokka’s other hand came to rest on his shoulder, his hand slipped from his cheek into Zuko’s hair. He felt like he was melting under Sokka’s touch. Kissing him was a lot more exciting than kissing Mai. Without really thinking, Zuko wrapped his arms loosely around Sokka’s waist, making him smile a bit against Zuko’s mouth. Sokka’s hand left his hair and came back to his shoulder, pushing Zuko back into the mattress with Sokka straddling his hips. 

“Are you okay with this?” Sokka asked, hovering above him. 

Zuko nodded, mumbling, “Yeah.” 

Sokka smiled again, moving his hands to rest near either side of Zuko’s face. “Cool,” he said back, peppering kisses across his cheek to his jaw to his neck. Zuko’s hands had flopped onto the bed. What was he supposed to do with them now? Run them through Sokka’s hair? Put them on his shoulders? His brain was feeling a little cloudy from the vodka and the mouth on his neck. Almost hesitantly, he decided on slipping his hands under Sokka’s— _ his _ —shirt. Sokka paused long enough to say, “Buy me dinner first, will ya?” 

Zuko thought he would have laughed had his heart not been racing and his brain not been preoccupied. Maybe it was the fact that Zuko didn’t respond or that his hands were frozen on Sokka’s waist, but something made Sokka sit up and look at him with worry. One of Sokka’s thumbs was running over his cheek, just below his scar. “Are you okay? Do we need to stop?” Zuko’s brain tried to reconnect to his mouth. 

“Yes—no! I…” he trailed off, trying to figure out how English worked. His hands fell from Sokka’s waist down to the sides of his legs. Zuko took a deep breath. “I’m okay, we don’t need to stop. I-I like what’s happening. I just don’t know what to do because I’ve never done anything like this before.” Panic curled up in his stomach at the confession. Hopefully, one day being sincere wouldn’t be so anxiety-inducing. 

The concern left Sokka’s face, but his eyebrows scrunched. “How long were you dating Mai for again?” he teased, his hand moving up to smooth Zuko’s hair. 

“A year, but we ran into the issue of me being gay.” Sokka laughed, leaning down to plant a kiss on Zuko’s lips. He could get used to this. 

Gently, Sokka took Zuko’s hands, pinning them onto the mattress near Zuko’s face. And that’s how they stayed for an immeasurable amount of time, fingers interwoven and making out. The warmth Zuko had felt earlier from alcohol was replaced with a different kind, one that seemed to curl up from his stomach. Eventually, Sokka’s hands left his in favor of running down the side of his chest and stomach and moving under his shirt. 

“Can I take your shirt off?” Sokka muttered into his ear. Zuko felt his heart begin to race. 

“Y-yeah,” he answered. Sokka smiled, planting a few pecks on his jaw before scooching back into Zuko’s lap and allowing him to sit up. Sokka’s hands ran back up his torso, taking his shirt with them and resting on his bare shoulders. Zuko didn’t feel insecure about it right up until the point where Sokka’s nose crinkled. It took less than a second for his anxiety to spike. “What?” he sort of demanded. 

Sokka shook his head. “Sorry,” he said, kissing Zuko’s forehead. “I was just surprised that you have freckles. Also, why do you only have freckles on your shoulders and chest?” It was… not what he had expected to hear. Without really meaning to, his eyebrow furrowed and he sort of scowled at him. 

“I don’t know. I didn’t exactly get to choose where I had freckles.” He wasn’t sure why he was getting so defensive about this. Sokka pushed some of Zuko’s hair out of his face. 

“Sorry, I shouldn’t haven’t said anything about it. But I think they’re cute if it makes any difference.” Zuko just hummed, nuzzling his face into the crook of Sokka’s neck. 

“You talk too much,” he commented. 

“You should shut me up then,” Sokka retorted. Zuko’s heart skipped a beat. He was sure that Sokka would actually kill him one of these days from comments like that. Lifting his head and a hand, he pulled him into a kiss. Sokka’s hands were warm and calloused against his skin. Pulling away slightly, they looked at each other briefly, before Zuko decided he should return a favor. Planting kisses along Sokka’s jawline, his lips scraped against his stubble. Ignoring it, he worked down his neck to his collarbone, pulling at the collar of his shirt. He could hear Sokka’s breath hitch every once in a while. Sliding his hands under his shirt, Zuko looked back up at Sokka. 

“Can I?” he asked simply. Sokka opened his mouth to say something, quickly shutting it and biting his lip. Zuko let his hands fall so they rested on Sokka’s thighs again. Sokka’s thumbs rubbed the skin right under his clavicle. 

“Yes,” Sokka answered ultimately. “It’s just—I should warn you that—” He let out a frustrated noise. “I feel so fucking stupid saying this to you, but I don’t want you to be surprised and you know, you—” he cut himself off, removing his hands from Zuko’s shoulders to rub at his own face. “I have a really long  [ scar ](https://youtu.be/wxUF0QY5Vko?t=73) running down my back,” Sokka admitted finally. 

Zuko just nodded, kissing him on the cheek bone. “Can I ask what happened?” 

“When I was nine, I snuck out onto my roof for the first time and fell off of it. I kind of caught the corner and it got me pretty good.” Zuko just nodded, kissing his jaw again. 

“You don’t have to take your shirt off if you don’t want me to see it,” he murmured into his ear. Sokka shook his head. 

“No, I’ll be fine. I don’t care if you see it,” he rebutted, reaching down to take his shirt off himself.  _ I thought I was supposed to be the stubborn one in this relationship. _ He immediately hoped that he didn’t say the thought out loud. Thankfully, he didn’t get a chance to say anything at all. The second Sokka got his shirt off, he leaned forward and stole several kisses from Zuko, grabbing his hand as well and weaving their fingers together. Zuko was okay with this turn of events. His thought process was so consumed with Sokka’s mouth on his, his tongue in his mouth, that he initially didn’t hear Sokka mumble, “I love you” in between kisses. 

Taking Sokka by the shoulders, he gently pushed him back. “What did you just say?” Zuko asked in shock, feeling like he imagined it. Regret washed over Sokka’s features. 

“Nothing, it’s fine,” he mumbled, trying to lean back in. Zuko stopped him. 

“Did—” he started, not sure if he should press any farther. He  _ needed _ the clarification. “Did you tell me that you love me?” The remorse in Sokka’s face started to look like panic. He nodded. 

“Y-yeah, I’m sorry it just kind of slipped out and I thought you didn’t hear and I know we’ve been dating for like half an hour but you’ve been my best friend for months now and—” Zuko placed a kiss on his forehead and Sokka stopped. 

“I love you too,” Zuko said before he thought through whether he should or not. It was honest, at the very least. Laughing a little in relief, Sokka wrapped his arms around Zuko’s neck pulling their bare chests together in a hug. Embracing him, Zuko chuckled and purposefully flopped backwards onto the bed. His boyfriend only made a small noise of surprise, laughing as Zuko squeezed him tighter. 

* * *

“Hey, Iroh, can Sokka come with us to help me move today?” Toph asked over her bowl of cereal. Uncle sat down his cup of tea. 

“Yes, but can I ask why?” he asked, shooting Zuko a look. He just raised  [ a hand, ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1d/04/16/1d0416739c31389a56dafaf0a2e8cf79.png) semi-scowling at his uncle. 

“It’ll be a long trip and you and Sparky aren’t always that talkative. Plus, I want Bumi to personally tell him that ‘Gorilla Goats’ is a better album than ‘King Candy,’” she responded, spooning another bite into her mouth in between sentences. More than likely she didn’t know how gross it was to see someone chew with their mouth open.

Uncle chuckled a litte. “I see. Well then, he can come along.” Toph smirked a little. 

“Want to come with us to Omashu, Captain Boomerang?” Toph semi-shouted, tipping her head back towards him. Suki stirred a little on the couch, still asleep.

“Yeah, sure,” Sokka answered with a nonchalant shrug. Zuko quickly glanced at him, smiling a little to himself as he took a sip of orange juice. Sokka just smiled back, smothering it with another spoonful of cereal. Aang, nearly falling into his bowl of oatmeal with dark bags under his eyes, seemed to catch it. 

“When did you guys switch shirts?” he asked casually. Zuko nearly choked, glancing over at Sokka who was still perched on the counter. They weren’t ready to tell their friends, so they had woken up early to avoid suspicion that they had both slept in Zuko’s room. This resulted in them being a little sleep deprived and Zuko having a mild headache. Apparently, they also happened to be idiots because they  _ had put on the wrong shirts. _ From the other end of the kitchen table, Uncle quirked an eyebrow at his nephew. Toph sat up a little, putting her spoon down in her bowl.  _ Ah, shit. _

Sokka shrugged. “I was cold and this one had longer sleeves so I made him give it to me,” he lied offhandedly, continuing to eat his cereal. Hoping that the conversation would be over, Zuko nonchalantly took another swig. 

Aang hummed. “I was just wondering because I got up to use the bathroom last night and heard you two laughing in Zuko’s room.” Zuko choked this time, orange juice  [ spraying out his nose. ](https://youtu.be/K7u4yoc_LFg?t=3) Uncle gave him a knowing look, biting back laughter. Sokka sat his cereal to the side, blasély hopping off the counter and grabbing a few dish towels out of the drawer by the sink. 

“Subtle,” he grumbled to Zuko, handing him one of the towels and using the other to wipe up the juice on the table. 

“Shut up,” Zuko muttered back, cleaning the front of his face. 

“Are you okay?” Aang questioned, genuinely concerned. 

“Yeah, I just swallowed wrong,” he fibbed, failing to save himself at least some embarrassment. It was at that point that he noticed that Toph had leaned over towards Uncle, who was whispering something to her with a smile.  _ Fuck. _ He took the second rag from Sokka, their fingers briefly brushing. Zuko's stomach ached, desperately wanting to hold his hand. Instead, he just took the orange-juice-soaked dish towels to his hamper in his room, stepping around the still sleeping Katara. 

In his absence, Sokka had returned to his spot on the counter, Toph to her chair, and Aang to his attempts at consciousness. Neither Suki nor Katara had woken up yet. Sitting back down, he tried to somewhat ignore the throbbing in his head. He wasn’t sure if it came from the vodka or lack of sleep. Probably both. He felt like such an idiot at times. 

“So,” Toph started, holding out the vowel. Zuko inadvertently held his breath in anticipation. “Why were you two lovebirds up so late last night?” And there it was. 

“We’re not ‘lovebirds,’ Toph,” Zuko grumbled, downing the last of his orange juice. 

At the same time, Sokka said, “I was astounding him with my knowledge of Shrek lore.” Toph hummed, skeptically eating another spoonful of cereal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again, please leave me puns or dad jokes in the comments. there were a lot of good ones last time ngl  
> thank you for reading! the last chapter should be out tomorrow!!


	3. We Should Just Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's the last chapter! how far we've come!!  
> first of all, I stole a character from ["Salvage" by Muffin Lance](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21116591) and I sort of describe them a bit differently than they do. also, if you're looking for something to read after you're done with this, I HIGHLY recommend reading "Salvage" I love it so much  
> okay, so the beginning of this chapter is a doozy. there is a lot of mentioned and implied child abuse. skip from "... considering it was almost the end of April" to "How's Uncle?" if you don't want to read it.

“Alright, she’s in here. Just remember to knock before entering. If you need anything, just give me a shout!” The nurse said, gesturing towards the door to her left. Zuko gave her a half-hearted smile, glancing down at her nametag. 

“Thanks, Song. I’ll keep that in mind,” he responded. She smiled at him as she turned to leave. He hoped he didn’t have to interact with anyone else he didn’t know for the rest of the day.

“She was nice,” Sokka commented, reaching out and grabbing his hand after she left. 

“Yeah,” Zuko said distractedly. Anxiety and anticipation coursed through him as he stared at the door. Uncle had gone over to Toph’s school to talk to Bumi, saying that he would be there later. Sokka initially was going to go too to help her start packing, but had instead offered to come with Zuko so that he wasn’t entirely alone. Rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand, Zuko looked over at his boyfriend. “Do you mind waiting out here for a bit? I think I should initially go by myself.” 

Sokka nodded. “Yeah, whatever you want, man. You know her better than I do.” He punctuated it with a quick peck on the cheek. Zuko chuckled humorlessly at the comment. 

“Not really. I haven’t seen her since she was eleven.” A weighted silence settled. He tried to tell himself that this would be okay and that he was working himself up over nothing. Part of him wished he had gotten to talk to Dr. Minami about this. She seemed to always give him solid advice, which he supposed was what she was paid to do. He guessed all he really wanted was reassurance. Squeezing Sokka’s hand one last time before dropping it, he muttered, “It’s now or never” and knocked on the door and opened it. 

“Kustaa, I’ve taken my medicine; you don’t need to keep—” the girl sitting in the chair near the window stopped the minute she saw him. 

“Hi, Azula,” he said, mildly regretting his decision to come see her. The way she was staring at him felt uncomfortable and awkward. He still didn’t know what to say to her. There was no real point to him being there at all. He felt like a bull in a china shop, bursting in and disrupting both their lives. 

“Zuko?!” she asked in shock, standing up out of her chair. Growing up, she had always been the sibling who was calm and collected; the one that had always thought everything through. It was strange to see her now, emoting freely. He hoped for her sake that it was an improvement.

He gave her a nervous smile, rubbing the back of his neck and dropping his eyes. “Yeah. It’s been a while, huh?” Cringing at himself, he thought that maybe he should have waited for Uncle or asked Sokka to come in with him. Her mouth pulled into a snarl.

“Do you want something from me?” she hissed at him. He guessed that this was an expected response. In five years, he had made no attempt to reach out to her. Then almost a month after she had been put in a psych hospital, he randomly showed up without warning. He understood why she was upset.

Zuko shook his head. “No. I just wanted to see you now that you’re no longer living with Father.” 

“Don’t talk about him!” she snapped. He just shifted his weight from one foot to the other. There was no possible way for him to know everything that had happened to her in that house after he left. While part of him felt guilty that he hadn’t been able to protect her from it, he reminded himself that he was a child. It wasn’t his responsibility to keep her safe. 

“What happened?” he asked, looking up to meet her eyes. She looked a lot like their mother, something she probably would never want to hear. 

“What do you mean?” The anger disappeared from her voice, her eyes turning red. 

“How did you end up here? Did he do something?” At that, he could see tears stream down her face. 

“Of course, you didn’t care enough to find out before coming,  _ Zuzu, _ ” she said instead of answering. 

Putting his hands in the pockets of his pants, he sighed. “It’s more that Uncle wouldn’t tell me. He still feels like he needs to protect me even though I’m eighteen.” At his response, she just blinked. Straightening her back, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, gaze shifting to the floor. 

More to herself than to him, she said, “Kustaa might be right about you.” He wasn’t sure what she meant by it, but it seemed to calm her. She let out a breath, looking back up at him and motioning for him to come sit. So he did, taking her chair near the window, while she sat on the bed. Tucking her left thumb into her right hand, she twisted her hands around each other. Growing up, she had been obsessed with growing her fingernails out long; now, they were short and neat and almost uncharacteristic for her. It occurred to him that she probably wasn’t allowed to have them long here.

“Who’s Kustaa?” he asked after a moment. She looked up at him so he clarified, “You’ve mentioned them twice now.” 

“He’s my therapist,” she answered looking back down at her hands. Sun shone through the budding branches of the tree next to the building. Part of Zuko was a little surprised they weren’t farther along, considering it was almost the end of April. “I thought I had imagined most of that night,” she said, breaking the silence. He looked over at her. “Father kept telling me that he just yelled at you, that you and Uncle were over dramatic. But I—” her voice broke and her eyes shifted away from him again. “I heard you scream. And I—I saw the scorch marks in your room the next day. He kept telling me that nothing happened and I started believing it.” Was this an apology? He could see the tears welling up again in her eyes. Absentmindedly, he reached up, gently pushing his fingers into the raised tissue around his eye. She watched the movement out of the corner of her eye. 

Carefully, he moved his hand from his face over towards her, hoping she’d at least let him put his hand on her shoulder. He didn’t expect her to flinch and recoil. Taking his hand back, he just stared at her for a moment. His brain remembered being a scared child who had the same reaction to everyone except his mother and uncle. He didn’t have to ask what happened, Azula answered unprompted.

“He told me  _ constantly _ that I needed to be better than you. You weren’t even there, but somehow he knew exactly how well you did at everything and if I wasn’t better—if I wasn’t perfect—” she faltered, a tear slipping out. She wiped it quickly, not looking at him. Trying to not startle her, he moved over and sat by his sister on the bed. Cautiously, he lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders. She flinched, but didn’t move away, not fully accepting the comfort either. 

“Father put me in here.” Zuko felt himself straighten in shock. 

“What?” he asked like an idiot. 

“He said I was  [ schizophrenic ](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizophrenia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354443) because I kept seeing and hearing you and mother. It made me weak, so he put me in here to ‘get rid of it.’” Her eyes were trained on a bird in the tree, busy feeding its chicks. Unexpectedly, she laughed without humor, pulling her feet up onto the mattress. “He was wrong on the first part. They said I was just experiencing  [ psychosis ](https://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/guide/what-is-psychosis#1) related to stress and trauma.” 

“Sounds like he was wrong on the second part too,” Zuko mumbled. Azula shifted out of his arm and turned and just stared at him. 

“But, I was weak. We both were. That’s why—” 

“Azula,” he interrupted. She visibly winced at the sound of her own name. He knew that he looked like Father; part of him was beginning to wonder if he sounded like him too. “We were kids. Neither of us were weak. We didn’t deserve what he did to us. Father was just an asshole.” 

“Don’t speak about him that way,” she spat back. It was almost surprising that she was still defending him. Obviously, she was hurt and angry, but she was still holding him on a pedestal. A lot of his memories from when he was thirteen were blurry. Maybe he had too.

He shrugged. “I think I’m entitled to call him an asshole considering he burned part of my face off.” Horror flashed over her face, as if they weren’t supposed to admit to what their father had done. He understood that the statement was a bit jarring as it came out more nonchalant than even he anticipated. Keeping his eyes trained on what was out the window, he watched Azula work through a series of emotions in his peripheral vision. She wrapped her arms around her legs, hugging them into herself. 

“How’s Uncle?” Azula asked after a moment. She had never particularly liked him growing up, so the question caught Zuko a bit by surprise. 

He shrugged. “He’s fine. Finally opened up his own tea shop. We might be moving to a new apartment soon.” She didn’t respond, hugging her legs and staring out the window. Twiddling his thumbs, he tried to figure out what else to say. Was there anything else he  _ could _ say? Sorry I didn’t come see you? Sorry no one got you out of the house sooner? Did he even need to apologize in this situation? 

“I heard you and Mai broke up. She and I keep in touch even though I’ve been homeschooled the last few years.” 

“Oh, yeah…” Mai had never spoken to him about his sister or how she was doing. But he had known that they still spoke. Also why was she being homeschooled? She had always excelled in school. Before he got a chance to ask, Azula continued.

“I take it you’re not gay anymore,” she commented, phrasing it like a question. His heart rate spiked. She had admitted that Father was openly feeding her vitriol. Would she scream at him if he answered honestly? Would she not care? It would suck that they had made so much progress in reconnecting just for it to be nipped in the bud. Probably, it would be best to get it out of the way now then.

Anxious, he sighed, “No, I still am.” Her face crinkled up in confusion, though she still wasn’t looking at him. He decided to clarify. “For a while, I didn’t want to be. And I liked her as a friend and thought maybe if we dated I’d like her romantically.” Without really thinking, he flopped back onto her mattress. It was a lot firmer than his so he bounced a little from impact. “That didn’t happen. But I’m okay with being gay now.” She rested her chin on her shoulder to stare at him, expressionless. 

Finally, she sighed and turned her face back towards the window. “Father wouldn’t like to learn that both of his children are queer.” Zuko laughed a little at the irony. The corner of Azula’s mouth pulled in a slight smile. The bird had returned back to its nest, feeding the eager chicks. Clouds drifted in front of the sun, darkening the room slightly. Zuko shifted his gaze up towards the  [ popcorn ceiling. ](https://www.thespruce.com/thmb/4OUwCPxv_MCYtSPN6aXSQoHqrSk=/3000x2250/filters:fill%28auto,1%29/popcorn-ceiling-1077486452-5c6cb30046e0fb0001e6e810.jpg) He couldn’t imagine living in a place like this. They had tried to make it feel homey, but nothing got rid of the sterility. 

“I hadn’t realized it would scar,” Azula commented after a moment. Zuko scrunched up his eyebrows, sitting up.

“Huh?” 

“I didn’t realize that you would have a scar from that night,” she clarified. 

“Oh,” he said, readjusting himself on the bed. 

“I almost didn’t recognize you,” she admitted. “When I picture you, you’re still thirteen. Mai never sent me pictures of the two of you together, so I didn’t really know what you looked like now.” 

“I hadn’t really seen pictures of you either,” he recognized, lifting his feet onto the frame of the bed instead of letting them dangle. Neither of them said anything for a moment. He didn’t regret coming here anymore. Maybe they had both needed this. There was knocking at her door. 

“Azula, I’m here to make sure that you—oh, hello,” a deep voice said behind them. They both turned to look at who was in the doorway. There was a man with glasses and a silvery brown ponytail. His blue eyes bounced between the siblings. “From the resemblance, I take it you’re Zuko.” 

He nodded. “Yeah… Do I need to leave?” The man shook his head. 

“No, I came to make sure your sister was taking her medicine.” He gave her a pointed stare. She rolled her eyes. 

“I did, Kustaa,” she said. He hummed, entering the room and leaving the door open. Grabbing the chair from near the window and pulling it closer to said door, he sat and placed his clipboard in his lap. 

“So, why are you here, Zuko?” 

He readjusted himself, feeling tension collect in his shoulders. “I’m going to help a friend move today from the school for the blind nearby. I—I just sort of wanted to visit my sister since I have the opportunity to.” Kustaa hummed, giving another look to his sister sitting behind him. 

“We already talked about most of that, Kustaa,” Azula grumbled, sounding like she was trying to find reasons for him to leave. 

“I just want to hear another perspective on it,” he said, looking down at his watch. “I don’t need to be anywhere else until one-thirty, so I have time.” She huffed, shifting on the bed. 

“Oh shit, sorry,” Sokka mumbled from the doorway. Zuko looked over at him, catching his eye. His boyfriend smiled sheepishly. “I went to the bathroom and I thought you left, but, uh, I’m interrupting something, so I can just, uh, go,” he said, pointing in various different directions. Kustaa looked him over, eyebrows knitting together. 

“This is going to sound strange, but you look familiar.” Sokka shot a nervous glance over at Zuko, as if he was asking to leave. “Are you Ha—Do you happen to be related to a Hakoda?” 

Confusion took over Sokka’s face. “Yeah? My dad’s name’s Hakoda. Why?” 

“Are you also from Grand Rapids?” Sokka’s eyebrows scrunched before he visibly made the connection. He laughed. 

“Oh shit—”

“Language,” Kustaa grumbled, as Sokka continued.

“—you know my dad. Okay, I was trying to figure out why you were asking such specific questions,” he said, looking a little relieved. “Yeah, I’m from GR and I’m Hakoda’s son Sokka.” 

Kustaa gave him a partial smile, taking off his glasses. “You look like him.” Sokka brightened a little at the comparison. “I know him from the Navy. We served together for a few years before I retired and got my PhD. How is he, by the way?” 

“Oh, he’s good. He and Bato just recently got out too and they opened up a mechanics shop a few months ago,” Sokka shrugged. 

“Are they still dating?” Kustaa asked nonchalantly. Sokka was taken aback. 

“Are they still  _ what now?” _ he asked in shock. 

Kustaa made a faint clicking noise with his tongue and took a deep breath, putting his glasses back on. “Well, we are talking about something that happened back in twenty eleven. I’m going to guess that they probably broke up then.” Sokka froze, looking like he was  [ doing math in his head. ](https://media1.tenor.com/images/fb3f2d1e814190100a4ae401b1660d5b/tenor.gif?itemid=6081931) “To be honest with you, I wasn’t expecting them to work out. They seemed better off as friends.” Sokka just rubbed his eyes with his fingers. 

“Yeah no, sorry, this is just news to _ me!” _ he sort of shouted as his hands fell to his sides. He let out a breath. “I’m going to go make a phone call.” 

“Tell him I say ‘hi,’” Kustaa said casually. After a moment, he turned to Zuko and asked, “He’s not homophobic, is he?” 

Zuko shook his head, hearing somewhere down the hall Sokka petulantly say, “Hey, Uncle Iroh. They’re down there.” Kustaa just hummed in response. 

“It can always be internalized,” he mumbled, not really to either of them. Zuko turned slightly so he could look back over at his sister. Weirdly, her face was neutral. 

“Why is he here?” she asked.

Zuko gave her a shrug. “He came to help our friend move.” 

“Yes, but why did he come with you  _ here?” _ He had forgotten how nosy she was, always wanting to know everything. Unfortunately, Zuko could be easily diagnosed with  [ dumbass bitch disease, ](https://i.redd.it/4y1t6rf31xv11.png) meaning his mouth often said things his brain regretted. 

“He’s my boyfriend.” He instantly regretted saying it, his pulse racing and his lungs forgetting how to function normally. Azula raised an eyebrow, her expression not really changing. 

“Well, I could have told you that,” Uncle chuckled behind him. Mentally, he was kicking himself; physically, he was turning to face his uncle. “But when did that happen, Zuko?” 

“Twelve hours ago,” he said, his mouth being honest out of panic. Uncle actually laughed at him. Honestly, he wanted to curl in on himself and implode. 

Noticing the psychologist’s presence, Uncle turned and said, “I’m their Uncle Iroh.” 

“Kustaa,” he said simply. “Interesting family you have here.” Uncle just laughed more. 

* * *

Sokka was sitting on the curb near the parking lot. His hood was up, his forehead was resting on his knees, and he was fiddling with his shoe laces. Zuko had never seen him moody like that before. He glanced over at Uncle. 

“I’ll wait for you two in the truck,” he said gently. Zuko gave him a nod, walking over and sitting down next to Sokka. He sat up a little, not looking over. Uncertainly, Zuko put an arm around his shoulders and Sokka thankfully leaned into the touch. 

“He said he’d talk to me about it when I got home,” Sokka said eventually. Zuko rubbed his shoulder. “I’m just mad because I found out about it from a total stranger. It’s been eight  _ fucking _ years, Zuko! You’d think one of them would have at least mentioned it at some point.” Folding his arms, he leaned back onto his knees. 

“I’m sure they had a reason to not tell you.” Sokka hummed doubtfully. A breeze tussled Zuko’s hair, blowing some of it into his eyes. He wasn’t sure how to tell Sokka that his dad had  _ literally _ introduced Bato yesterday as “his partner.” Zuko had assumed they were together and it was so normal to the family that they never clarified. Brushing his hair back, he decided maybe it wasn’t best to bring that up right now. “Would you want me to come with you to talk to him?” 

Sokka shook his head, taking his hood off and sitting back up. “No. I just sort of want to talk to him by myself.” He put his head on Zuko’s shoulder. After a moment, Sokka sighed. “I think I’m also mad because there’s a lot of other things that he’d kept from me over the years. Like when he left the Navy!” He sat up fully. Zuko’s arm fell to his side. “We didn’t know for months that he had left until he randomly showed up at home. Or when my Gramp-Gramp died! He didn’t tell me he was dead until the day of the funeral! At least with our mom, Katara and I both knew right away.” He groaned, rubbing his eyes. “Like, I love my dad, it just feels like sometimes he forgets to include us in things.” He collapsed back onto his knees. 

“I’m sorry,” Zuko said after a moment, not sure what else to say. His relationship with his father was vastly different from Sokka’s relationship with his. The closest he had gotten to a caring paternal figure was Uncle, which he honestly wasn’t sure if it was completely the same or not. Gently, he grabbed Sokka’s hand. Sokka sighed again, returning his head to Zuko’s shoulder. 

“It’s fine,” he grumbled. They stayed like that for a moment, Sokka rubbing his thumb over the back of Zuko’s hand. Eventually, Sokka dropped his hand and stood up. “Okay, let’s go help Toph.” 

* * *

“Uncle Iroh, I’m here to steal your nephew,” Sokka said.

“Okay,” Uncle yelled from the back. At the same time, Sokka lifted himself up onto the front counter to sit.

“I just cleaned that,” Zuko quasi-complained, trying not to smile at him. 

Sokka chuckled a little. “Sucks to suck,” he joked, swinging his legs and showing no intention of leaving his spot. “Will you make me a boba before we leave?” 

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Yes. You want the almond one, right?” 

“You know me so well,” Sokka said with a smile. Turning around to get started on that, Zuko heard Sokka land on the floor.  [ As anticipated, ](https://www.instagram.com/p/CCSqr_tnoJI/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet) Sokka’s arms wrapped around his waist and his chin came to rest on his right shoulder. Casually, Sokka planted a kiss on the back of Zuko’s ear. Laughing, Zuko rested one of his hands on Sokka’s. 

“There are people here and I’m still technically working,” he mumbled, enjoying the affection in a very unsubtle way. Sokka hummed a little and squeezed him gently before letting go and returning to his spot on the counter. He never used to sit there when he came to visit Zuko before they were dating. Legitimately, Zuko wasn’t sure why he had started sitting on counters over the last week. Probably he should just ask him about it. 

Finishing Sokka’s tea and making one for himself, he hung his apron on the rack at the back of the kitchen. “I’ll be home later tonight, Uncle,” he told him. Uncle reached over and patted him on the shoulder without looking up from the tea he was preparing.

“Stay safe and call me if you’ll be out after dark,” he said, audibly smiling. 

“Will do,” Zuko said, turning to push the kitchen door open with his back. 

“I love you, Zuko.” 

“I love you too,” he said, re-entering the front of the shop. It was quiet on a Saturday afternoon for once. A few college students and other young adults were scattered through the dining area, but it was still practically empty. Sokka looked up at him from his phone, smiling as he approached. 

“Do I get an ‘I love you’ too?” Sokka teased. Zuko rolled his eyes.

“This one’s yours,” he answered, handing him one of the boba teas. Part of him wondered if Sokka would notice that they were both the same. If he did, he didn’t say anything. 

“What a gentleman,” he commented, stabbing a straw through the lid. Hopping off the counter, he continued, “Ready to go?” 

“Yeah,” Zuko answered, biting back an “I was waiting for you.” Being snippy probably wasn’t the best way to start a first date. Instead, he kicked a pebble near the front door, sending it down the sidewalk. “Did you drive or are we walking?” 

“Katara wanted to use the car today so we’re just walking. Is that okay?” 

“Yeah, it’s totally fine,” Zuko said with a nod, taking a sip of his tea. “Where are we going again?” 

“A ramen place over on Monroe that Suki told me about,” Sokka said. Zuko gave him a look. “I asked her like two days ago about it! It’s not like we went there together when we were dating.” Zuko chortled a little, rolling his eyes slightly at him. 

It wasn’t a very long walk there from The Jasmine Dragon, taking them only about six minutes to walk there; however, they ran into the issue that the restaurant didn’t allow for outside food or drink to be brought in. And so, they decided to wander around the block for a while. 

“Did you end up talking to your dad?” Zuko asked, finishing his tea. Hakoda hadn’t been home the previous Sunday when they dropped Sokka off. Then the school week started and there just wasn’t an opportunity. Sokka sighed, kicking at a balled piece of paper on the sidewalk. 

“Yeah, I kinda had to corner him yesterday and we talked about it. Katara was mad too that she didn’t know about it either.” They had caught up to the paper wad, so Sokka gave it another kick. “So my dad and Bato have been secretly dating for eight years and part of the reason why they left the Navy is so they could be more open about it without risking their jobs.” He kicked the paper again. “He apologized, though. For making me feel like he was keeping things from him.” There were a million ways that Zuko could respond to that; however, he didn’t trust his mouth to not fuck it up, so he opted for holding Sokka’s hand. Sokka gave him a partial smile. “I’ve forgiven him, but I haven’t told him about us, yet.”

“That’s okay,” Zuko replied. Sokka gave his hand a squeeze. 

“Yeah, it’s kinda like pay back,” he joked, kicking the paper wad a final time. “But I’m not waiting eight years to tell him.” Zuko laughed a little.

Eventually, they made it back to the restaurant, dropping each other’s hands as they went in. Everything went fine: they ordered, got their food, sat down, and just chatted a bit. Zuko had worried incessantly that it was going to be awkward, that this would change things between them for the worst. Thankfully, things felt normal, natural. It was all going so well for about five minutes, until Sokka saw something behind him, scrunching up his nose. 

“What?” Zuko asked, looking over his left shoulder and not exactly seeing anything. 

Sokka sighed. “Suki and Toph are sitting behind you wearing sunglasses and fake mustaches,” he said, sounding both disappointed and highly amused. Blinking once, Zuko turned around in his chair and sure enough. Suki gave him a wave and a smile. Turning back around to face Sokka, he just sighed. 

“Why are they here?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Sokka laughed, motioning for them to come over. Zuko just sighed. He wasn’t upset to see them, he just sort of wanted one day alone with Sokka. Toph saw him… sort of every single day now. She could take  _ one _ day off! He felt like he was entitled to a break. So, he rubbed his temple, not looking back at them again until they were at the table. 

Toph, in typical Toph fashion, half pushed him out of his seat so that she could sit on it too and wrap an arm around his neck. She had taken off her mustache, but left on the sunglasses that he was fairly certain weren’t hers. Suki, thankfully, just stood at the end of the table. 

“So, Sokka,” she started, taking off the sunglasses and the fake facial hair. Sokka just gave her an awkward smile. “When were you going to tell me that you’d moved on?” He laughed. 

“It’s been four months,” he joked back. “Also, who said this was a date?” He flashed Zuko a look with the question. They hadn’t really discussed  _ when _ to tell their friends, just that they didn’t want to too soon in case things didn’t work out. 

“Sparky’s heart rate,” Toph said. “Also, the fact that he’s been talking about you two hanging out today for a week.” Sokka looked at him wide-eyed. Zuko gave him a sheepish smile and shrug in return.

“Then there’s also the fact that you asked me if I knew of any good first date spots, Sokka,” Suki teased. Sokka sucked air in through his teeth. 

“Right,” he said, holding out the vowel and flushing slightly. Suki squatted, resting her elbows on the table. 

“So,” she sort of sang, drawing out the “o.” “How long have you guys been hiding this from us?” It was a singing tease.

“A week almost,” Sokka admitted, looking down at his soup. Toph’s arm left Zuko’s shoulders in favor of punching him in the side. 

“Ow!” he exclaimed, actually not expecting it for once. 

“You should have told me, Sparky!” she countered. 

Rubbing his arm, he answered, “We were just waiting to tell everyone.” Suki gave him an empathetic smile. 

“Well, you two at least know you’re dating,” she joked with a glance at Sokka. Standing up, she said, “Okay, Toph. We got our answers. Let’s go!” 

“See you at home, Sparky,” Toph said, getting up and ruffling his hair. And they actually left. Zuko and Sokka just stared at each other for a moment. 

“We should have asked about the fake mustaches,” Sokka said eventually. Zuko nodded.

“Also, how did they know we were here?” Sokka shrugged. After taking a moment to laugh about it, they finished their food, put their dishes back, and left. Stepping outside, Zuko asked, “Where are we going next?” Sokka just smiled at him, taking his hand. 

“I don’t know. Where do you want to go?” 

“Please, don’t ask me to make a decision,” Zuko said without thinking. Sokka just laughed, squeezing his hand. 

“Want to just go down to Rosa Parks Circle and hangout for a bit?” 

He gave him a smile and a simple, “Sure.” It was close, just a two minute walk. Two minutes of them walking hand-in-hand, chatting. Zuko  [ liked it a lot better ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzSVmsrJEzk) than when they walked places as friends. 

It was busy, families out on picnics, friends spending time together, people waiting to get into the art museum. Thankfully, there was a spot on the hill and under a tree that was still open. Sokka flopped down in the shade, crossing his legs. Zuko sat next to him as Sokka ripped grass from the ground and sprinkled it into his lap. Shoulders dropping slightly, Zuko could only ask, “Why are you like this?” 

Sokka shrugged. “You’re the one dating me.” Rolling his eyes and humming in response, Zuko pulled some grass as well and put it on Sokka’s head. “Hey!” Sokka shouted before laughing. As Sokka shook his head off, Zuko bit back laughter, just staring at him. Eventually, they made eye contact and Sokka’s laughter died. “Has anyone told you that you’re really pretty?” he asked in a whisper. 

Zuko shook his head. “I could ask you the same thing,” he said while leaning in for a kiss. Sometimes not being able to stop your mouth from speaking came with benefits. Sokka smiled against his mouth, resting his hand against Zuko’s collar bone. But like all good things, it was  [ only momentary. ](https://youtu.be/Tt7bzxurJ1I)

“Sokka?!” A surprised voice shouted. They quickly pulled away from each other, scanning for the source. There, on the side of the street with its hazard lights on, was Sokka’s rusty, white Honda with his sister in the driver’s seat. Katara looked like she might be on the brink of a conniption. Some of the color drained from Sokka’s face. 

“Hi, guys!” Aang said, waving from the passenger seat, oblivious. As much as Zuko loved Aang, he had to admit that sometimes his optimism went  _ too _ far. Sokka looked over at Zuko for a moment, before getting up and walking over to his sister. Zuko quietly followed behind him. 

“Do you two have something you’d like to share with us?” Katara asked. 

“Not exactly,” Sokka said with a shrug. Katara looked at him as if she was incredibly disappointed in him and ready to run him over with the car. Normal sibling things. 

“Sokka,” she snapped. 

“I mean, I think it’s pretty obvious what they were doing, Katara,” Aang butted in. There was a moment’s silence before both Sokka and Aang were attempting to stifle their  [ laughter. ](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/034/537/Laughing_Wolves_Banner.jpg) Katara just gave Zuko a fed up look. Eventually, she closed her eyes and sighed. 

“Can one of you,  _ please, _ just tell me exactly  _ why _ you were making out when  _ literally _ yesterday you  _ both _ said you  _ weren’t _ together?” Sokka’s amusement stopped in an instant and he looked over at Zuko. Neither of them said anything. Katara sighed. “If you’re dating, just say that. Don’t be like Dad and just not—”

“I’m not being like Dad!” Sokka cut in. His sister just stared at him. Aang dropped his gaze down to his hands in his lap. Finally, Katara just sighed. 

“Sokka, can I talk to you alone?” He readjusted his stance and nodded. Katara looked over at her boyfriend in the passenger seat. “Aang, do you mind waiting for a minute with Zuko? I’m going to go park up there.” 

“Alright,” Aang said, getting out of the car without hesitation. Sokka took his spot and Katara part way around the block into a parking spot. And then it was just the two of them. “So,” Aang began. “You and Sokka?” 

Zuko nodded. “Yeah. We’ve been dating for about a week.” 

Aang patted him on the back. “Good for you guys! I had a feeling that you were dating from the morning after prom.” Zuko cringed a little at the memory, absentmindedly rubbing at his nose. 

“I made it pretty obvious, didn’t I?” he asked. Aang laughed, which Zuko accepted as “yes.” He just sighed, brushing some hair out of his face. “Want to go sit down? I don’t know how long they’ll be.” 

“Sure!” Aang said in excitement, seeming to float for a moment as he jumped and spun so that he faced the little hill. They both took a seat under the same tree Zuko had kissed Sokka under, stray strands of grass littering the area around them. The quiet of the city settled in between them. Conversations happened around them, engines rumbled, birds sang from the trees. He and Aang hadn’t hung out alone in several months. Part of him almost missed it. Almost. He didn’t really miss Aang’s rambling or tendency to ask uncomfortable questions.

“Their mom really likes you, you know.” Aang said after a while.

“Who?” Zuko asked, legitimately confused. 

“Kya, Sokka and Katara’s mom,” Aang clarified. Zuko just stared at him. “I see her hovering around them every once in a while.” It was really,  _ really _ easy to forget that Aang saw dead people. This was the second time he had ever brought it up in the time that they had known each other. 

“Oh,” Zuko said, not sure what to do with this information. 

“She’s really glad that you were friends before getting together. Says it reminds her of her and Hakoda.” Zuko sat up a little straighter, trying to think of what to say. 

“That’s… good to know.” His brain panicked, feeling like he should say something else. He really didn’t want Aang to feel like Zuko thought he was crazy or something. “Have you told Katara or Sokka about this?” 

“No,” Aang said with a shrug. “Well, I have asked each of them if they would want to talk to her one day, but they’ve both made it clear they don’t want to right now.” Zuko just hummed in response, looking over at the little white Honda. 

Though he wasn’t sure how long, the two of them sat for a while in content silence. Eventually, Aang ended up rambling to him about things going on in his life: he and Katara were going to get dinner later, Gyatso was thinking about maybe adopting a cat, he was excited for summer but didn’t want Zuko to graduate just yet. On the last part, Zuko reassured him that he essentially wasn’t leaving; he was just going to community college and would be around. They both knew it wouldn’t be the same. Finally, Sokka rolled his window down.

[ “Get in losers ](https://youtu.be/EOy1EoX5T0k) , we’re going to our house!” Sokka yelled at them from about five hundred feet away. Katara smacked her brother on the shoulder. Aang and Zuko walked over to them.

“Get in the back, Sokka,” she told him. 

“No, this is my car, Katara,” he argued. 

“I’m okay with just sitting in the back,” Aang helped. Zuko just got in the backseat quietly with an eye roll. One thing he had never missed about living with Azula was the bickering. Partially, he felt like they’d never argued as much as Katara and Sokka did. He still didn’t miss it.

“Sokka, just go sit with your boyfriend!” Katara demanded finally.  _ Good to know that she knows now. _

“If I have to,” Sokka jokingly complained, before climbing over the center console into the back. Flopping into a seat, he looked over at Zuko, winked, and asked, “What’s up, babe?” Zuko hummed at him, crossing his arms.

“You do realize that you just left me alone for almost half an hour on our first date, right?” Zuko teased. 

“I didn’t go  _ that _ far! And you had Aang!” Sokka shot back. 

“What’d I do?” Aang asked from the front seat. 

“Nothing,” both Zuko and Sokka answered and then looked at each other. Sokka giggled. Zuko rolled his eyes with a smile, shoving his boyfriend gently and letting his hand fall down into his. Neither of them let go until they pulled into the driveway. 

Getting out of the car, Zuko asked, “Aren’t you guys also coming in?” 

“No, we’re going on the date that we were headed to before we found you and Sokka,” Katara answered simply. 

“You didn’t have to pull over, Katara,” Sokka mumbled. 

“Evidently, I  _ did,” _ she retorted. 

“I told you we could have taken the bus,” Sokka argued, closing his door. 

“Bye, Sokka!” Katara said, mildly irritated and with a wave. 

“Whatever.” Sokka turned and started heading towards the front door. Zuko just waved at Aang before following. Getting his key out to unlock the front door, Sokka muttered, “I don’t know who’s home, but I felt like this was the best chance we had at not having our friends interrupt us again.”

“I mean, it wasn’t ideal, but I didn’t mind,” Zuko said with a shrug. 

“Well, I just want to be able to kiss you without almost causing a car accident,” Sokka said, unlocking the door. Zuko chuckled a little, making Sokka smile. 

The house was quiet when they entered. More than likely, they were the only two people there; nonetheless, Sokka grabbed his hand and led him upstairs to his room and closed the door behind them. Flopping on the bed, Sokka just held his arms out. Zuko just stared at him. 

“Come cuddle me,” Sokka demanded. Rolling his eyes, Zuko happily obliged, resting his head against Sokka’s chest. Sokka casually ran his fingers through Zuko’s hair. 

“I love you,” Sokka said easily. Zuko lifted his head and met his blue eyes. Six months ago, he never would have expected to end up here: laying in Sokka’s arms and feeling wholly loved by the people in his life. He was so much less angry now than he had been, so much happier too. There was nothing that he felt like he had to run away from. A lot had changed, but he was so glad it had.

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading!!! I'm still accepting kudos and appreciate puns/dad jokes in the comments.  
> also thank you to those of you who have been reading this since the beginning of July. I really appreciate your patience and your enthusiasm about my work! I'm hoping to write one more thing before classes get too busy. :) 
> 
> thanks, y'all

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! leave me a kudos if you want! otherwise leave a pun or dad joke in the comments (I need jokes, not compliments)


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